possible to make a dvd longer than 60 minutes in iDVD 5 w/"Best Perfor

[tab75-13]

Hi all,

I have acouple of questions about making a movie imported from iMovie HD into iDVD 5. Why can't I make a movie in iDVD 5 under the preference setting of Best Perfomance that is longer than one hour in length? I know I can do so under Best Quality, but I want to try to do the seemingly impossible; are there any sleights of hand one can pull to fool iDVD 5 into making a dvd greater than 60 minutes in length? I recall seeing something about doing this using DVD2OneX a while back, but I believe that was in reference to iMovie ( and probably not iMovie HD). I also used to see an iMovie guide, (perhaps that would help here in answering my questions) but no longer have the URL. Anyone know the site, if that could help to answer my questions? I have read that the problem is usually with one's movies imported into iDVD and not somethin one can do with iDVD itself. If so perhaps a fix --other than trimming the content of the video-- can be emplaced in iMOvie itself before "sharing" with iDVD the project.

Also, under Best Performance in preferences of iDVD 5 is the option to enabe Background Encoding. Does this imply that I could perhaps output a disk image or a video_ts folder, attained via Background Encoding, that I could then compress using DvD2OneX without having to insert a media into the super drive? What, in short, does enabling the background encoding option do under the Best Performance setting in iDVD 5's Preferences that is unique or useful? I don't think it does, but it seems that if I wish to have a dvd out of iDVD, I must insert a burnable media into the drive.

Thanks once again for yor help with another convoluted question, but I don't like prohibitions (as I trust you don't either) and there ,ust be workarounds for these. I trust that some of you have more expertise in these matters than a technophobe like me.

Best regards,

T

[edDV]

Why can't I eat a quadruple Western Burger at Carl's and not have my heart go NOWAYDUDE?

Austin? I get it. You went to Montessori School? no limits?
http://www.montessori.org/

That works until you meet the real world.

[tab75-13]

It is the home town of Lance "Live Strong" Armstrong, now involved with a supermodel I see.

[edDV]

It is the home town of Lance "Live Strong" Armstrong, now involved with a supermodel I see.

Yup after dumping Sheryl Crow.

Can you add some tech to your query? Why do you think you should get "Best Performace" at low bit rate?

BTW: I met Lance over at the Continental Club on Congress.

[tab75-13]

Well, I am sorry I am rather limited in my knowledge of these things. That is why I queried, to understand perhaps the false assumptions underlying my question. What does low bit rate have to do with Best Performanve-- no doubt another rather revealing question? What is the difference between Best Quality and Best Performance any way? And what is the sense of Background Encoding in Best Peformance? I was essentially ineterested in this because if I could somehow obtain an encoded video_ts folder without having to burn a disk, if it is too large, I could compress it via DvD2OneX. But iDvD does not permit background encoding (under Best Performance) for projects longer than an hour, so that seems to be a moot point. But that is precisely what I was attempting to probe, whether it was really a moot point.

BTW, I don't necessarily agree with your previous analogy of the hamburgers at Carl's (which unfortunately are not in Texas) as solely conducive to bad hearts; now a diet of Carl's in conjuction with regular viewing of Paris' commercial for the California chain, that I think would lead to some damaged arteries.

Send Carl's to Austin; we are considered TX's sin city.

Any help with my no doubt obtuse questions would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks a bunch.

[tomlee59]

Sarcasm aside, I think that you could've simply launched a quick google search to find the answer (which is what I just did). Summarizing for you:

1) Best performance encodes at a constant bitrate, independent of the complexity of the video. It's chosen high enough to give good results no matter what the source is. Also, the basic "dumbness" of this strategy means it's easily implemented (and so executes fast). The price paid is a 60 minute limit.

2) Best quality is exactly what it sounds like. It gives you the best possible quality given the length of the source movie, within the constraints of MPEG2.

If you use something like DVD2One as a post-processing step, understand that there is no magic. You will lose quality. That's how you reduce file size: Throw stuff away. That's a simplification, but it's more true than not.

[edDV]

That is it. For a given file size, 4.3GB for single layer DVD, time recorded is proportional to average bitrate. Bitrate for video + audio + other is limited to about 9.8Mb/s or ~60min at full rate.

Lower average bitrate gets you proportionately more recording time. DVD picture quality is a function of source quality, frame size, VBR algorithms and Mpeg2 encoder fiddlings.

BTW: That Carl's Western Burger is loaded with bacon. That and Paris will clog something quick.

[tab75-13]

Thank you both edDV and tomlee59 for explaining these issues to me. tomlee59 alluded to the use od DvD2One may be because I had referred to it earlier, but it seems that it never really has an opportunity to come into play with anything iDVD produces because either under Best Quality or Best Performance iDvD will always only produce something that will fit onto a 4.3 size DvD, even though under Best Performnace it seems to produce something limited to 4.0 G at most. tomlee59, I did try to do a google search but always cam up with little. There did seem to be an iDVD FAQ site, but when I would click on its link I would always get a page with links to a bunch of ads on it. (I am still not sure what Background Encoding is, but I guess that as long as it will only produce a file that is no more than 60 minutes in length, that is not relevant. I will keep searching for more info on these and other things in the guru search engine emanating from northern california though.

Thanks again for all your help; edDV, thanks for letting me know about that Western Burger as I try to keep a distance from things bacon. Paris though....

thanks,

t